2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

WIP: Trans-forming the Spaces of Engineering

This research WIP paper examines the spaces in which undergraduate transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) engineers feel comfortable expressing themselves or being their most authentic selves. The current depoliticized environment of engineering education often positions social and political issues as less valuable than technical problems or irrelevant to engineering [1]. Additionally, queer students in STEM often face a “chilly” environment due to issues like under-representation paired with a dominant cisheteronormative culture, or the belief that it is the societal norm to be cisgender and heterosexual [2]. With a rise in TGNC students entering higher education [3], there is a need for educators and staff to prioritize their needs and create safe spaces.

Research on community building shows that queer engineering students build communities of support, or groups of people that queer engineers surround themselves with that legitimize their identities and experiences in engineering [4]. Communities of support tend to draw from a variety of sources including friends, student organizations, and partners. Within communities of support lie safe spaces, which focus on increasing the visibility and/or safety of marginalized community members [5]. The presence of safe spaces is essential with issues like compartmentalization, or hiding a part of one’s queer identity to promote safety, prevalent in engineering education. We posit that safe spaces offer the opportunity for TGNC engineers to embrace and find comfort in their queer identities.

In this study, we evaluate students’ thoughts, opinions, and experiences as an undergraduate TGNC engineer. We sent a pre-screening survey to potential participants at three higher education institutions across the U.S., asking them to provide information about the queer identities they hold. Based on the results from the prescreening survey, 10 students were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview to learn more about their personal experiences as queer undergraduate engineers. Out of the 10 interview participants, 6 identified as TGNC. Unlike literature on the LGB populations, there is still a gap to fill regarding TGNC experiences in higher education [6].

This project examines the responses from those interviews to address the following questions:
1. What are the types of spaces that TGNC engineers interact with?
2. What benefits do these spaces provide for TGNC engineers?

Preliminary work shows that TGNC engineers find comfort in both physical and virtual spaces, with a majority of our participants having a deep connection to artistic spaces and forms of expression. The results of this analysis have implications for challenging cisheteronormative culture in engineering spaces through expanding knowledge on safe spaces, as well as improving visibility of TGNC individuals' needs in higher education.

References:
1. Cech, Erin A. "The (mis) framing of social justice: Why ideologies of depoliticization and meritocracy hinder engineers’ ability to think about social injustices." Engineering education for social justice: Critical explorations and opportunities. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2013. 68.
2. Brinkworth, Carolyn S. "From chilly climate to warm reception: Experiences and good practices for supporting LGBTQ students in STEM." (2016).
3. Thompson, Cole, et al. "Leveraging Networks: Nonbinary STEM graduate students and the power of identity-specific social capital." 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. 2025.
4. Yang, Jerry A., et al. "Resistance and community-building in LGBTQ+ engineering students." Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering 27.4 (2021).
5. Ali, Diana. "Safe spaces and brave spaces." NASPA Research and Policy Institute 2 (2017): 1-1
6. Jennings, Madeleine, et al. "A review of the state of LGBTQIA+ student research in STEM and engineering education." ASEE annual conference. 2020.